Bracket of Integrity

Today is the day to finish filling out our brackets, and I’ve got another thought to unpack. Are you the type of person who decides to complete multiple brackets with different picks or do you stick with the one and only “bracket of integrity?” I understand the reasoning behind entering multiple office pools and diversifying your selections to give yourself the best chance to win, but I’m in favor of people only having one bracket. More specifically, I’m convinced we should only talk about or represent one bracket. If someone does fill out multiple brackets, we don’t like hearing them brag about a certain upset that they picked on one of their ten brackets, right? Or listening to them tell us how impressed we should be that one of their brackets is leading in a certain pool (while their other five entries are in last place). However, if you fill out one bracket of integrity that includes your convictions for who you thought would win the games, and then get them right, go ahead and tell me about that great upset you picked because I have much more respect for you. When thinking about how we represent ourselves in life, we should place a great emphasis on our integrity. We don’t want to be known as people who say one thing when it’s convenient, but allow our actions to depict something else. People are confused by this and can’t figure out what we truly believe. The philosophy of filling out multiple brackets with various teams winning can illustrate how our opinions and convictions change based on the company we keep or the different daily scenarios that surface. But, we must ask ourselves, are we a follower of Jesus pursuing integrity or are we somebody that likes to keep our options open and not really stick to our convictions? The Bible says in Proverbs 10:9 (NLT), “People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.” Ultimately, our multiple brackets will be exposed. Someone will catch us talking about Michigan State winning it all one minute and then UNC the next. If we are living like one guy at home and another guy at work or with our buddies, eventually we won’t be able to keep up. Today, let’s be challenged to stick to a life of integrity where our character and convictions remain consistent and rooted in God’s Word. I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times when I don’t stick to the convictions that You’ve given me. Help me to be the same guy from an integrity standpoint, regardless of the scenario. Please give me the strength to consistently follow You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.